THE ATLAS-8F SYSTEM INCORPORATES AUTOMATIC END EFFECTOR INTERCHANGE AND HIGH-RESOLUTION FORCE REFLECTION IN A SIX DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM, 250-POUND PAYLOAD, 110 REACH MANIPULATOR. A COMPACT MASTER CONTROL ARM AND MENU-DRIVEN LCD PENDANT PROVIDE SLAVE ARM CONTROL. THE ATLAS-8F IMPLEMENTS TRUE FORCE REFLECTION THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF FORCE AND POSITION SENSING AT EACH JOINT WITH A HIGH-SPEED, CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL ALGORITHM. THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE DESIGN BACKGROUND AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE ATLAS SYSTEM, ITS EXECUTION OF FORCE FEEDBACK IN CONTRAST TO OTHER STRATEGIES, PERFORMANCE DATA, AND DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS.